New Zealand: Independent Service Stations Continue to Close

The Motor Trade Association says independently owned and operated service stations are closing at a rate of about one a week.

It says tight margins on fuel are partly to blame. Also, independent station owners can't afford the cost of installing new storage tanks.  In 1976, there were 4400 independent owned service stations. In 1996, there were 1500 independents and 400 oil company sites.  Now there are about 650 independents, while oil companies run about 400 stations.

The PetrolWorld survey on New Zealand based on the MED report showed that New Zealand had :
2003 – 1600 service stations
2006 – 1300 service stations
2008 – 1265 service stations

Full list of petrol retailers and oil companies with the number of service stations for each brand is outlined in the PetrolWorld Magazine retail survey.

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